The Christmas dinner is a time to be together with the family and share the table. Traditions also have their importance in the kitchen. Give it agnolotti with zelten, to the capitone e the tortellini. Likewise, the traditional Italian dishes at Christmas are many.
Fish for the Christmas dinner
As for dishes and traditions, especially at Christmas, in Italy the table is never empty. Families are ready to get together and it is difficult to get up from the table during the holidays. To begin, let's say right away that in the Center and South, in fact, we prefer to celebrate with the Viglia dinner. On the other hand, in the North, lunch on the 25th is a must. In the same way, there are very specific rules regarding the food we eat during the Christmas period. In fact, on the 24th evening it is customary to prepare a lean dinner. Above all, the cuisine is based on fish, while at Christmas you are more free.
Wikipedia image, author: Silvestro Barbato flower
To resume the theme of Christmas' Eve, the 24th is a fish-based shopping day. Especially popular are eel, cod, capitone and, finally, salmon. But crustaceans such as prawns and prawns, gratins and more are also bought a lot. Even if the ingredients are these, the processes are varied. In the various Italian regions there are those who prefer to put fried food on the table, those who instead exalt tradition and those who, on the contrary, love to experiment.
The Christmas Eve menu
The Christmas Eve menu, to tell the truth, is full of many courses. To begin, among the first courses we find the linguine with lobster. A refined and tasty seafood dish, perfect for the occasion. Similarly, a variation of this dish is to cook the delicate lobster pulp in a tomato sauce. Likewise, the sauce is enhanced by the intense flavor of the comic obtained with lobster shells. For anyone who is a good fork can also try the baked paccheri. Pasta, cooked with mozzarella and anchovies, is a typical recipe from Southern Italy.
The recipe, in particular, combines the goodness of mozzarella with the sea scent of anchovies. Then we move on to the seconds. Equally, the stewed capitone must not be missing. On the other hand it is a typical dish of the Christmas period. While those who prefer traditional second courses also love to present to guests a spectacular guinea fowl with pomegranate. On the other hand, those who go to a fish kitchen prefer creamed cod with grilled slices of polenta. Even covered with a strong garlic cream, cod is a great success. Finally, among the desserts on Christmas Eve there are Christmas cookies. To tell the truth, tradition wants them in the shape of a star and a snowflake.
In fact, they are a fun recipe to make at home together with the children. But they can also be prepared in other forms. Particularly tasty are the biscuits with a chocolate mixture on top and a dollop of whipped cream to define the decoration.
How to organize the dinner at home
Christmas Eve is now near. In fact, the days fly by very quickly and the anxiety of having to prepare Christmas dinner rises. To tell the truth, you don't need to get stressed, but instead think about organizing everything in advance. In the beginning it is good to take notes and plan everything down to the smallest detail. Thus the anxiety of the unexpected is avoided. So notebook in hand and off you go with a to-do list. In the same way you have to think and choose the menu in order to plan the shopping for the Christmas dinner. But even more important is to opt for classic recipes that take a long time.
Once the recipes have been chosen, a detailed list of the ingredients needed is created in order to better organize the shopping. A help is also to cook in advance everything that is possible to anticipate. Finally, it is useful to learn how to get help. This avoids catalyzing the whole organization on a single person and making the organizers more calm and serene. In the end it is nice to receive guests with a beautiful smile of satisfaction. At the same time we are happy and proud of the good work done.
